Various hard materials and methods of forming hard materials have been used to form cutting tools as well as tools used for friction stir welding. A tool used for friction stir welding includes a hard metal pin that is moved along the joint between two pieces to plasticize and weld the two pieces together. Because this process wears greatly on the tool, hard and strong materials are very desirable. As a results, hard metal compounds and composites have been developed to improve wear resistance.
Prior art hard materials include a carbide, such as tungsten carbide, bound with a binder such as cobalt or rhenium. Carbide-based hard materials have been produced with rhenium as the only binder, using conventional sintering methods. Tungsten-rhenium alloys have also been produced with standard cementing methods. Such tungsten-rhenium alloys can be used as alloy coatings for high temperature tools and instruments. However, materials with improved wear resistance are desired for use in cutting tools such as cutting elements used in earth boring bits and in other tools such as friction stir welding tools.